Our research around the same time came to the conclusion of a sun tracker, with wind protection, would be the best option. The panels were very expensive (a 400

Our research around the same time came to the conclusion of a sun tracker, with wind protection, would be the best option. The panels were very expensive (a 400'ish W panel that today cost $80 costed around $2,500-$3,000), so aiming for the absolute best performance for the panels was key. The trackers fail sometimes, but I would say once a year or so. The electronics are not that complicated, and its reliability was higher than the motor itself. I remember calculating with fixed tracking of the sun (because you know were it is at all time) vs photocells that tell the motors were to move and by how much. The trackers win because when the day is cloudy the best performance is to put the panel flat and let it rest there (instead of tracking a sun that isn't there so the motor that day consume more energy that the panels generate), and with enough cloudy days the tracker outperform the fixed tracking by a significant amount. It's not until recently, with 400W panels under about $500, that tracking no longer makes sense, at least in our latitude.